Worlds Apart
by Riha Hyesthae
Summary: More AU fun. Aeris survives, but Zack and Cloud do not. Aeris can see dead people. Ah the joys of being the last surviving Cetra. Zack/Aeris
1. Only Bad Witches

It was a whole different world in here, like her and her mother's apartment, only lower. The rooftop and back lot of the shabby old complex had been their haven; a little spot of green amid the gray and grime of the city. Aeris didn't much like the city; it was dirty and noisy; oven-like in the summer and frigid in the winter. But it was quieter than in the country.

She remembered the country, dimly, from when her mother and father were still alive. She had been very young then. There was a lot of empty space after that, and then lots of memories of mom. Good ol' mom, might she rest in peace. Mom had been mother to more than just Aeris, but the entire neighborhood. After she'd died, Aeris had tried to carry on in her stead, baking cookies for the neighborhood kids, making wine and soap for the uptown ladies, and scented candles and medicine for the mothers on her block. Except no one had wanted them once mom was gone.

Mom had spent five long years dying; years where Aeris should have been going out with friends, maybe find a job indoors, or get married. It wasn't that Aeris didn't want to do any of those things, but the fact that she hadn't done them seemed to somehow diminish her in the neighborhood's eyes. She didn't understand why. Mom being sick was unrelated to her lack of social activity, but everybody seemed to think it was the reason she chose to stick close to the house. Actually, it was all their damn gossiping that made her hate to go out the door. They all suspected her, because mom had been so strict about "gentlemen callers". Not that she really needed to be. Aeris was trustworthy, even if her boyfriends might not have been as honest as she. That wasn't the reason, though. Aeris didn't mind her mother's puritanical rules. As long as she kept her pants on, and came home on time, that was good enough for mom. It was good enough for Zack too, oddly. Mom had said he was a keeper. He'd been such a good sport about mom and her rules and her getting sick. But then the war had come and he had gone. And when he came back, it was only Aeris who saw him return. She still missed him.

The blonde boy who'd come to break the news she'd already known had helped fill his place for a while. But then he left too. When she saw him again, she knew things hadn't gone much better for him. People just kept leaving her. Because of her knowledge of herbs and plants, people wondered if it were her fault. Then mom died, and they were convinced it was her fault. In a way, they were right. Yes, she had helped her mom die, but it wasn't murder. She had asked for it, and Aeris, ever obedient, had done so.

Only bad witches were ugly, and Aeris had never been pretty. Mom had always said she ought to go back to the country, marry a farmer or something, where she could be in her garden all the time. Poor mom didn't know that away from all the living people, the dead ones only got louder. The church and the people the next sector over were the next best thing she could come up with. Hopefully, they weren't the kind to go burning people at the stake.


	2. Breakup

The garden helped drown out the noise. The plants and earth had a language all their own and she talked for hours with them daily, not once feeling deprived of companionship though she went days at a time without speaking to a single human being. No one came to the church these days.

Well, the dead people still came and wandered around, but unless she paid attention to them, they generally left her alone. She didn't have to converse with them if they didn't think she was listening. Most of them she didn't know personally, and that wasn't as bad, but every now and again, there would come someone she did and then it was bad. Very bad. They always wanted to know what had happened and that was something she could never explain. Nobody liked hearing the words "you're dead and it's my fault", even if it wasn't directly. Zack and his buddy hadn't been her fault, she just felt like they had been. Never fall for a soldier, that was what mom had said, and yet she'd liked both well enough.

It was Zack she really missed. Except she could never bring herself to face him. She would see him, sometimes, just standing and watching her from a distance, either with his thumbs hooked on his hip pockets, or leaning on that giant sword he'd carried. He'd never say anything, just...watch. Though she never looked up, she could feel the regret in his eyes. She wondered if he were angry with her too?

The worst part was when he came at night, as she was trying to fall asleep. There were no footsteps on the floor, no rustle of fabric as he walked, just the jostle of the closed door in its jamb as he went through the motions of unlatching it, and the scuff of wood against stone as he pulled the chair out from her desk and sat in it as if he were still flesh and blood. From there, he would sit with his knees wide apart, elbows leaning on them, hands dangling in the space between, keeping vigil over her as if she were ill. She certainly felt ill sometimes. It was hard to pretend he wasn't there, harder still to try to sleep. Too often, she lay until she was too tired to even cry. By the morning he was always gone and she could never decide if she was glad of that or not.

How much did he know? If he did know, would he understand? Surely if he'd run into mom, she would have explained things to him. That it had been the kindest thing, that she wasn't suffering anymore. The only one suffering now was Aeris. But she supposed that was her own fault. It was the only thing that really was.


	3. Until Death

_I know you can hear me._

Aeris swallowed hard where she lay. He'd come again to watch her that night, she'd lain awake trying her best to seem asleep. Clearly, it hadn't worked.

 _You tried so hard to hide it, but I could tell there was always something a little different. When you saw me… Well, hell, you saw me. That pretty much says it all right there._

It kind of did.

 _Please…_ there was pain in his words, _don't pretend like I'm not here…_

It was pointless to even try. Turning over in her bed, Aeris faced her ghost.

"Zack…"

His smile almost broke her heart.

i _Hey, beautiful…_ /i

"…you're not angry?" she asked, feeling tears rise.

 _Angry?_ he blinked, honestly perplexed. _How could I be? You didn't do anything._

"But…"

 _Your mom told me I could find you here, Hon. It's okay. I know why you did it. I'm just glad I got to go down swinging._

"Zack…" her voice cracked, going squeaky as she instinctively leaped up to hug him. She had fully expected to tumble over the chair and land face-first on the floor, therefore it was as comforting as it was frightening to wrap her arms around him as he caught her up, his body cold yet solid.

"Oh Zack…" she sobbed, soaking the clammy fabric of his uniform with warm, salt tears.

 _I've missed you too,_ he murmured, stroking her hair. _Sorry to cut and run like that. I…I wanted to come back to you but…_

"It's all right, you're here now."

 _As much as I can be, anyway,_ he smiled, that darling, goofy, off-center half-smile. Without hesitation, she kissed it. Maybe it was her imagination, but his lips seemed warmer. He sighed deeply as they broke apart, shivering slightly in delight.

 _Gods, I missed that…_

"So did I…" she whispered, laying her head on his cool shoulder.

 _So how'd you end up in a church anyway? Never thought you'd turn nun, though I have to admit, it sounds kinda hot._

Aeris couldn't help the snerk that brought. "I hate to disappoint you, but I'm the only one here. It's only temporary. I'm just crashing here until…" She really didn't know until what. It hadn't been something she'd even considered when she came here. "Until things calm down, I guess."

 _For the neighborhood or for you?_

"Mom?"

 _Yup. When you've got no life, other peoples' suddenly become way more interesting._

That was Zack, always ready with a wise-crack. It made her smile and she hugged him. It felt good to joke again.

"For me then, I guess. I dunno. It's not the same without you. Without her. Nobody trusts me anymore. I suppose I could move but… I dunno. I keep losing people."

He shrugged and the ripple of his muscles under her cheek was so _real_ she found it hard to believe that he wasn't really sitting here with her, holding her on his lap like her used to. His arms tightened around her in a reassuring hug and she pressed closer, as if the heat of her body and force of her will could somehow coax him back to life.

 _It happens. And it's not just you, Poesy. Sometimes things just happen. You're on a run of bad luck, that's all. It won't always be like this._

"Hearing you say it makes it easier to believe," she mumbled into his neck and felt more than saw him smile.

 _Mm…_ he answered distractedly, busy smoothing his cheek against hers. He must have shaved before going into battle, the texture of his skin was only mildly prickly with barely-begun growth and was merely cool instead of icy, as if he'd been outside in the snow without a coat. How could he possibly be dead? For the moment, she tried to silence the thought, choosing instead to concentrate on the moment as Zack snuggled her close.

"If my mom could see us…" she giggled quietly.

 _Afraid she's going to walk in and witness some impropriety?_ Zack teased, one thick eyebrow playfully cocked.

"She'd kill us."

 _I'm already dead._

 _Darling, don't remind me…_ she thought, but only said, "I'm not."

 _Either way, we'd get to be together,_ he said, kissing her again. _Sorry. That was selfish._

"It's okay," she replied, kissing in return. "I'm half-tempted to take you up on that."

He chuckled, running his hands along her back. _Careful what you wish for, Love._

"I wish I could be with you."

 _So do I…_ His voice was as soft as hers had been, whispered quietly into her hair, every syllable heavy with longing. Aeris snuggled closer, heedless that her nightgown had hitched up around her thighs, straddled as she was across Zack's lap. They sat together, stealing kisses, arms around each other, just enjoying the closeness. Aeris dimly expected her mom to enter at any moment, and Zack seemed to sense her tension.

 _Still worried about your mom?_

"Kinda. I mean look at us, I'm sitting on your lap in my nightgown in a _church_."

 _Kinky,_ Zack grinned. Aeris laughed.

 _Seriously,_ he went on, _it's just us tonight. I think she'll give us our space since I said I wanted to try to talk to you at least one more time._

"I'm glad you did."

 _By the way, your jammies are cute,_ he told her, smoothing the collar between forefinger and thumb. Aeris blushed fractionally. The garment was unadorned and ancient, worn soft from countless washings and wearings.

"Nothing too exciting about plain white cotton."

 _Pretty exciting to me,_ he insisted, his smile grown mischievous. _I've never seen it before, not on you anyway._

"Stop it," she told him, not meaning it at all and shoving him playfully. Zack grinned.

 _If you're that worried about it we could correct the situation?_ He teasingly tugged at her hem.

"You're awful!" Aeris laughed, gently batting his hands away.

 _Am I?_ he asked, kissing her deeply.

"Yes," she gasped when he let her breathe again, "you are."

 _A frightful cad, hell-bent on assaulting your modesty, I fear._

They both dissolved into giggles.

 _Sorry,_ he panted once they'd recovered somewhat. _I just… Gods I want you…_

He pressed his warmed cheek against her collarbone, not daring to go directly for her cleavage, both hands kept reservedly around her waist.

"Zack…" she blushed, not sure how to answer that, somewhere between scandalized and flattered. The stark truth was she wanted him too but… "Zack, you're _dead_."

 _At least I won't get you pregnant?_ he offered, a chagrined smile on his face. She couldn't bear to see such a look and so leaned to kiss it away.

"We shouldn't…"

 _I know…that's what makes it fun…_ he teased between kisses.

"Isn't there like…some kind of taboo against this?" she asked, scavenging for reasons to tell him no.

 _Well…I'm not alive so it isn't adultery, and you're not molesting my corpse, so it isn't creepy. I mean…it's supposed to be a union of the soul or some spiritual shit, right?_

"I suppose…"

She could feel him digging into her slightly, forced to one side a bit by his trousers and pressing into her leg. That much of him, unquestionably warm. It had scandalized and shocked her the first time he'd pulled her close to hug her and felt him jabbing against her hip. He'd been embarrassed, sheepishly citing that there was little he could do about it; it was a mark of how much he liked her. In his defense, he hadn't been perverted about it but extremely embarrassed. After awhile, it amused, even pleased her that he should get that excited in her presence. She nudged back against him a little, just to see what happened, eliciting a stifled groan from her late lover.

 _Gods Aeris, don't tease me like that…_ he whimpered.

"Shhh…" Leaning, she kissed him, guiding his hands towards her hem.

 _Y-you sure?_ he stammered, expression honestly stunned. She nodded. So did he.

"Will you come to me again?" she murmured, more than half asleep, tangled in his arms.

 _Mm…_ he answered just as sleepily. _I'll come to you every night if you want. I'll never leave your side if you don't want me to. I've got all eternity. I'll stay beside you forever if that's what you want._

"It's what I want."

 _Good._


End file.
